Answer: It is impossible to prove a universal
negative, but there is not as yet even the slightest evidence, either biblical
or scientific, that there are men like us inhabiting other planets or star
systems. There is an abundance of pseudo-scientific speculation of this sort,
but the hard evidence is against it.

Life, at least such as we know it,
requires a very complex combination of environmental factors to be possible,
and only this planet, so far as is known, provides this combination. Water must
be abundant, for example. Little if any water exists on the moon, or Mars, or
Venus, or the other planets, and certainly not in liquid form. The temperatures
on all the other known planets are either too cold or too hot for life in any
higher form comparable to the earth's human life.

In addition, many complex chemicals
must be present in abundance in order to support the life process. An
atmosphere essentially like our own would also have to be present. In general,
life in any form comparable to human life would require a planet essentially
the same as our own planet in every respect. There is no evidence, however,
other than speculation that such a planet exists anywhere else in the universe.

The main reason that men keep
wishfully searching for evidence of extraterrestrial life is that this would
give support to their evolutionary philosophy. That is, if life is just a
product of natural chemical developments here on earth, as the leaders of
evolutionary thought insist, then the same chance developments should also have
taken place in other places in the universe, they feel, in view of the almost
infinite number of other stars. Nevertheless, the actual evidence remains
massively negative.

As far as the Scriptures are
concerned, they teach unequivocally that the earth is uniquely the abode of
man. "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's, the earth hath He
given to the children of men" (Psalm 115:16) "God hath made of one
blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath
determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation"
(Acts 17:20).

It was to this earth, alone among
all the uncounted billions of heavenly bodies, that God Himself, in the person
of Jesus Christ, came down to suffer and die for man's salvation. "And no
man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son
of man, which is in heaven" (John 3:13). The earth may not be the center
of the universe (though no one knows, of course, where such a center might be),
but it is certainly the center of interest of the universe! "In this was
manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through Him" (1 John 4:9). It seems
grotesque and blasphemous to suggest that the tragedy of Calvary's cross should
be repeated on millions of other planets, for the benefit of other unknown and
hypothetical members of God's creation.

The earth, as the astronauts observed,
is uniquely beautiful and uniquely equipped as man's home. Though it is small,
it is of infinitely more complex organization and variety than even the largest
stars, composed as they are mostly of the simplest elements, hydrogen and
helium.

Since the sun and moon were made
specifically to "give light upon the earth" (Genesis 1:15), it may be
possible that the moon, and even the solar system, were within the
"dominion" which man was commissioned by God ultimately to
"subdue" by his science and technology (Genesis 1 :28).
This is uncertain, but it is at least clear that the other stars, the nearest
of which is four light-years away, are well beyond man's power ever to explore
directly, or to control, in the present order of things.

Why, then, did God create them? What
is the purpose, in God's wisdom, for the tremendous number and variety of
stars, and perhaps a still greater number of planets (though the existence of
these is speculative, based only on analogy with the solar system) throughout
the vast universe?

We can only give tentative
suggestions, of course, but it is well to remember that God is still the
Creator, and there are endless ages of eternity ahead of us. Even though, for
the moment, the only obvious function of the stellar heavens is to reflect the
infinite power and grandeur of their Creator, it may well be that they are
awaiting more specific uses by Him in the ages to come, after the completion of
His redemptive program for the earth and men.

It is also possible, that, even now,
they have some relationship to the angels of God. This may be implied by the
fact that angels are often called "stars" in Scriptures (e.g., Job
38.7; Isaiah 14:12, 13; Revelation 12:4, 9; 9:1; etc.) and that the phrase
"host of heaven" is applied both to the stars and to the angelic
hosts (e.g., Jeremiah 33:22; II Chronicles 18:18). The worship of the stars,
which has always been a characteristic of polytheism, has, in reality, been a
worship of angels (or "gods"), especially those angels who have
followed Satan in his great rebellion against the true God (note II Kings
17:16; Colossians 2:18; I Corinthians 10:20, etc.). It seems possible, at
least, that this frequent identification of stars and angels is more than mere
poetic imagery; possibly angels, who are mighty spiritual beings created by the
"Lord of hosts," have their primary sphere of operations in the
heavens, in the stars. The Bible says, "(He) maketh
His angels spirits and His ministers a flaming fire" (Psalm 104:4; Hebrews
12:22) that "do His commandments" (psalm 103 :20).

Thus, although it is all but certain
that no other man-like creatures {[9] See “The Troubled Waters of Evolution”,
pp. 168-171. Also see “King of Creation” (San Diego: Creation-Life Publishers,
1980), pp. 6-17.} inhabit other worlds, it is true
that in God's universe, and possibly on the stars themselves, there exists a
vast host of intelligent and powerful beings, the angels of God. Though it is
futile to try to establish contact with them by such devices as space-ships and
radio telescopes, we can communicate with God Himself through prayer and
through His Word, by faith, and the angels are "sent forth to minister for
them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 1: 14).